First time wrapping

Options
aunt_paula
aunt_paula Member Posts: 271
edited June 2014 in Lymphedema
First time wrapping
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • aunt_paula
    aunt_paula Member Posts: 271
    edited April 2014

    Today I had my second OT treatment and the therapist wrapped my arm and hand for the first time. I guess I just need to vent--this is really a pain. I didn't realize how much it would bother me to have my fingers wrapped (hand and arm are not so bad). I can't figure out how I am going to go to the bathroom! (sorry--TMI--it is a concern though lol)

    She did say that the fingers may not have to be  done most of the time, so I'm hoping it's temporary. And I didn't think about how hot it would be. 

    I am sorry--I think I have complained enough! :)

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Binney4
    Binney4 Member Posts: 8,609
    edited April 2014

    Oh, goodness, Paula, don't apologize for complaining! Wrapping is quite a blow, and working out the details of how to cope with it is certainly not easy. Here's a whole raft of ideas from other "Wrapped Wonders" to help you through this time:

    http://www.stepup-speakout.org/How_You_Can_Cope_wi…

    Toilet issues are far from being TMI--it's a challenge we all face (along with using a fork, typing, preparing meals, washing dishes--sigh!). The vet gloves on that page I linked to are a possibility, but I use old bread bags and other plastic bags as needed. If only one arm is wrapped it's "easier" (NONE of this is really easy!!) to learn to use the other hand. It was a surprise to me how clumsy I felt trying to use the other hand--never thought about it until I got LE. If cultural custom dictates the use of the hand you have wrapped, then vet gloves or bags will work. Hopefully others will be along with their suggestions as well.

    Hang in there! Make sure she teaches you to wrap your own fingers and hand/arm--it's a skill you'll be glad to have so you can deal with flares without having to keep a LE therapist in your pocket! Learning to wrap isn't easy either--but it'll make you mighty proud when you master it!

    Let us know how you're doing! Gentle hugs,
    Binney

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • BayouBabe
    BayouBabe Member Posts: 2,221
    edited April 2014

    aunt_paula - I share your pain!  I was wrapped for the first time last week!  Ugh!  I don't think I have ever hated anything so much (unless we add BC and TE to the list!). I definitely did not cope well and did a lot of crying and moaning that day.  LE sucks.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • aunt_paula
    aunt_paula Member Posts: 271
    edited April 2014

    BayouBabe, it does suck!!! I finally had a little fit at my desk just before noon, and pulled all the wrapping off after I got it wet trying to wash my other hand. I feel bad complaining, because I know so many people would love to have LE be the worst thing that came out of this whole experience--and mine is mild at that, so I feel like a big baby. I also totally underestimated what it would mean in terms of how it would affect my life, and now I'm ticked off about it. Is it better/easier now that you've been doing it for a week, or is it still as frustrating?

    Binney4, I have been reading at the link you posted--thank you so much. It never occurred to me to try a plastic bag! Thankfully it's not my dominant arm, so most things aren't hard, but I got sick of having a hot arm earlier and my inner two-year-old had at it.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • kareenie
    kareenie Member Posts: 339
    edited April 2014

    it  sounds like a small thing but i switched all thehand soap at my house to the foaming type... much easier to wash one hand  by itself .

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • carol57
    carol57 Member Posts: 3,567
    edited April 2014

    kareenie, funny but I did the same thing, for the same reason. It really does make the one-handed wash a lot simpler.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • amygil81
    amygil81 Member Posts: 165
    edited April 2014

    aunt_paula, I have moderate LE. I wear a sleeve and glove during the day, and wrap most nights, plus some days when it's flaring. Here's something that I found helpful. I asked a member of my support group who is an arm amputee how she had learned to live one-handed. She recommended the book "One Handed in a Two-Handed World," by Tommye-Karen Mayer. She also had liked "The One Hander's Book" by Veronica Washam. The first is in print today, and the second available used, from the usual places online. I got some tips from each of them. Hope this helps.

    Amy

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • aunt_paula
    aunt_paula Member Posts: 271
    edited April 2014

    Thank you! I will look for those. I am happy to say that I have calmed down a lot with the wrapping. I made it all day Wednesday and yesterday with it, partly because my therapist figured out a different way to wrap that worked better and was more comfortable (and partly because I think I just realized it was necessary and complaining wasn't going to help). Last night when I took off the wrapping I could see that it had made a big difference, and this morning my coworker remarked on it too, so being able to see the difference makes it easier to deal with too. I hope that the reduction in swelling means that I can be measured for my sleeve and glove soon (I am hoping that they will be less bulky than all the layers of wrapping, and I think I will be able to deal with that better).

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • hugz4u
    hugz4u Member Posts: 2,781
    edited April 2014

    amygil, what a smart idea with that one arm book.

    Also, Handwriting For Heros, is good. I hold my pen with my gloved fingers by putting the pen between my second and third finger and pinch it with my thumb. I get great control and my fingers don't tire. This would work for being wrapped whislt writing. Ultimately I was born a lefty and they switched me to right so I have been going back to my roots and doing most with my left non le arm. Still cant write worth a darn with my left hand though even though I was born to.

    aunt paula, Wrapping is a true art that I am sure if you demonstrated to your MD he would marvel. Probably would hire you on the spot  for the  emergency casting department. I practice about once a month so I don't forget and yes.... you can really forget. Sometimes I wrap to tight and have to rip it off after an hour. grrrr.

    We have a wrapping thread I will see if I can find it and post it for all as a refresher.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories